Industrial technology parks as a tool for the development of the regional economy

To date, a large number of development institutions have been created in Russia, which are designed to develop industrial enterprises, small and medium-sized businesses, as well as help start-up communities and young entrepreneurs. In this article, we will dwell on technoparks in more detail. What it is? How were they created in Russia and abroad? What is their main goal, business models of work, and most importantly, what measures are there to support technology parks?

History of technology parks in Russia

Technological parks in Russia began to be created back in the 1990s. These were divisions of scientific institutions, universities and institutes. They were financed by the state budget and controlled by the Ministry of Education. Then no one understood what it was and how it should work. These technoparks did not last long, and after some time it was clear that the technopark should be an independent institution and work in conjunction with science and business, and not as part of a scientific organization.

From 2006 to 2014, already under the coordination of the Russian Ministry of Communications, another program was launched to create technology parks in the field of high technologies. It is worth mentioning right away that this type of technoparks has now lost its relevance to some extent. Currently, there is a newer state program for the creation of industrial technology parks, which is being implemented by the Russian Ministry of Economic Development.

What is an industrial technopark

According to the Federal Law of December 31, 2014 No. 488-FZ "On Industrial Policy in the Russian Federation" industrial technopark — these are objects of industrial and technological infrastructure intended for the implementation by subjects of activities in the field of industry, industrial production, and (or) scientific and technical activities, and (or) innovation activities in order to master the production of industrial products and commercialize the obtained scientific and technical results. Thus, the emphasis of technopark projects is shifted towards industrial implementation.

The main task of technoparks in the field of high technologies was "growing" projects at the seed stage ("seed") and the start-up stage ("start up"). Recall that at these stages it is important to create an MVP («minimal value product») — work product and/or intellectual property. Organization of industrial production — secondary. If we deal with the concept of a resident of an industrial technopark, then this is a manufacturing enterprise that rents the premises of a technopark. It is assumed that the enterprise already has a reserve for the organization of production.

Requirements for industrial technoparks

According to Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 27, 2019 No. 1863 "On industrial technology parks and management companies of industrial technology parks" there are a number of formal requirements to be called an industrial technopark:

• technopark must have a management company;
• Industrial and technological infrastructure facilities must be managed by this company;
• there must be at least 2 (two) technological infrastructure facilities on the territory of the technopark;
• the area of the territory (land plot) must be at least 1.5 hectares;
• the area of the premises is not less than 5000 m² and not less than 2000 m² per 1 ha;
• points of connection to electricity with a capacity of at least 0.5 MW.

These requirements change periodically, so it is necessary to constantly monitor the legislation. If the technopark meets these requirements, it is possible to start preparing documents for the inclusion of the industrial technopark in the register of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia.

Technopark business models

In Russia, there are 3 models of work of technology parks (purely expert opinion of the company LLC «In Pro Consulting»):

1. Rental model.
2. Infrastructural model.
3. Service model.

The task of the management company in the rental model of the technopark — create "walls" and rent out space. Re-equipment with the necessary technological infrastructure is carried out by the tenant himself according to the requirements of his own project. This format of a technopark can meet the requirements of an industrial one. Most often, private technoparks work on this type. The task of the owner here — create a minimum infrastructure and return the investment as quickly as possible.

The infrastructure model refers to the placement of residents on the technopark and the provision of all the necessary related infrastructure (technological and engineering) for the implementation of their project: technological services (for example, equipment sharing centers, a prototyping center, an engineering center, clean rooms, etc.) , consulting services, coworking centers and meeting rooms, catering places, etc. The task of the management company here is — to focus on creating a high-tech infrastructure, the creation and management of which requires a large staff and competence.

The service model is similar to the infrastructure model. The difference between them is that the management company does not strive to create a serious technological infrastructure, as this requires additional resources: staff, competencies, time, etc. Instead, a large pool of partners is formed that can provide non-serial services (prototyping, industrial design, production experimental batch of products, etc.). The management company earns here by renting out premises and providing intermediary (service) services. Such services may include — search for an industrial partner, organization of events to find investors and clients, assistance in attracting funding, organization of pitch sessions, etc. This type of model is something between the rental and service models of technology parks.

It is important to note that no matter what model the technopark belongs to, it has the right to receive various support measures from the state, subject to a number of requirements.

State support for industrial technology parks

In Russia, depending on the type of ownership, there are 2 types of industrial technology parks: public and private. Both types are eligible for support. Main types of support:

1. Subsidizing the costs of creating, upgrading and (or) reconstructing the technology park infrastructure.
2. Reimbursement of part of the cost of paying interest on loans for the management company of the technopark.
3. Allocation of subsidies for the creation of an industrial technopark (construction and installation works and the purchase of technological equipment).

Responsible for supporting technology parks are two main federal ministries: the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia and the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia. It is important to understand that in order to receive state support, it is necessary to formally have the status of an industrial technopark. To do this, you need to submit an application to the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia for compliance with the requirements for industrial technology parks. Based on the successful completion of this procedure, the industrial technopark is entered into the register of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia.